


Don't Worry About It

by JDwritesnonsense



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Slice of Life, Sort Of, boris habit/self insert - Freeform, implications of past trauma, ive never posted anything on here so im not sure how to work the tags, reader is female, reader is flower kid - Freeform, reader is my sona and is called Rose or Flower (flower being the game's player nickname), rose functions mainly as a reader insert, rose is a shapeshifter, rose is female but genitals aren't described because this aint that kinda story, rose's backstory is left ambiguous, self insert is flower kid, they function in a world where vampires canonically exist so i dont see why other cryptids wouldnt, this story is basically me going ham with that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-16 23:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20611490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDwritesnonsense/pseuds/JDwritesnonsense
Summary: In a world where nonhuman folk exist and those who can't pass as human are forced to hide, a shapeshifter named Rose makes her way through the Habitat, one smile at a time. She finishes her journey with a kiss and a flower, only to leave... and forget to check her email for a solid 2 weeks.[Boris Habit]Subject: hi!!! :-D“He llo, Flower! It has been a whil e, hasn’’t it? I hab been busie. I am ver y sorry it tooke me so lomg to comtact you!!”





	Don't Worry About It

Somewhere in the cold hours of late night and early morning, a young woman sat at her desk. The room was dark and empty, illuminated only by the pale blue light of her computer. It wasn’t a very homely space. Aside from a bed, a desk, and a computer, it seemed the room’s only other items were a bunch of well-worn cardboard boxes. The girl didn’t mind it. Her attention was wholly on the screen, her mouth pressed into a thin line as she struggled to stay patient. She hated how slow the damn computer was. Too many of her neighbors were internet addicts.

As it was, she was only trying to load her email. It had been… about two weeks since she left the questionable resort known as The Habitat, and before she left, she’d given an odd man her email address. She… may have forgotten to check it until now, to be honest. She worked long hours to afford the bare little apartment she stayed in, and it wasn’t often she got time to just… lounge.

But tomorrow (or today?) was Monday - Labor Day. It was one of the rare times she got  _ unquestioned  _ time off. After a few hours of taking care of her greenhouse, napping, and dicking around with a sketchpad and pencil, she’d suddenly remembered Boris.

So, here she was. Trying to get the damn computer to work. 

It took another few moments for the page to finish loading. Sighing, she scrolled through her emails. Spam, spam, spam. Advertisement. Notification. Notification. Notification. Spam.

She felt her heart sink a little. Was there nothing here?

No, there it was! Half a page down and buried in clutter, a rather inconspicuous email sat, forgotten. Guilt poked at her stomach. She’d only kissed him, gave him a flower, and then up and  _ vanished _ . No assholish behavior there.

  
  


** _Boris Habit_ **

_ Subject: hi!!! :-D _

_ “He llo, Flower! It has been a whil e, hasn’’t it? I hab been busie. I am ver y sorry it tooke me so lomg to comtact you!!” _

Rose had to stop reading for a minute just to rest her eyes. Good lord, the PSAs had a few typos, but this was ridiculous. Was he even _looking_ at what he was typing?

Okay, _no_, don’t be judgemental. She blinked hard a few times and set her resolve. She’d spent the better part of an hour trying to check for this exact email, so she’d  _ read  _ it, damn it.

_ “Not 2 worrie, I have shut dowm the “Habitat”. I habe had lots amd lot s to think about since The Great Event. I wamt to apologogise for hurt in’g you. I am in “therapy” noW and I have learned a lot!! For exampley, I appparremtly have sometihng called PEE TEE ES DEE. Wow!!!! My therapets said that this is pppart of why I tthough t teeth would… . Do the thimgs I said they would. _

_ My therwpest also said a lot of thikgs aboout “”forgivmg myselv”, whic h is hard. It has beem vere hard, Flower Child. But I remmemberd you!!! And I am very sorree for you r teeth.  _

_ If you’’would liike, we can stiLL g et a coffee! It is harmd to type on thise very very teny smal thing. Would B fery nice to sea u again. Email me when U can!! :-) _

_ Sincererly, B. Habit” _

Rose leaned back in her chair, absorbing everything she’d just struggled so hard to read. The seconds trickled by. She had no idea how long it took her to even get a coherent thought together.

It was fucking _lucky _she wasn’t human. A human wouldn’t have been able to _grow back_ 12 missing teeth. Boris didn’t know she wasn’t human, though, none of them did. He’d have questions about her teeth - questions she’d probably have to lie to answer. Honestly, he’d probably have so many questions, about anything and everything, teeth aside. She hated questions. Hated to be pried at. She had so much she needed to hide.

But, to be fair, she had questions too.

She looked at the polaroids on her desk - some of the only decorations in the room, if you could call them that. She shuffled through them until she found the one she’d taken of Habit.

A red eyed shadow stared back at her, mouth set in a terrifying grin - so full of teeth he could barely lift his lips around them all.

“You’re not human either, are ya?” she whispered to the photo, voice hoarse with disuse. “But  _ what  _ are you?”

Maybe she could… eventually tell him the truth?

But she was getting ahead of herself.  _ So  _ ahead of herself.

“Okay,  _ coffee _ ,” she whispered, tilting her head up to stare at the ceiling. “Coffee, coffee, coffee.  _ Okay _ . So he’s in therapy and he apologized for stealing my fucking teeth. I looked through his diary, kissed him, gave him a tooth lily and then  _ disappeared  _ for a few weeks. We’re probably even steven.”

She ran her hands through her hair, closing her eyes. She sighed and looked back at the glaring screen. 

He’d been  _ so  _ excited to have a friend.

She didn’t really have many, either. Maybe this would be good. Maybe it’d be fun! Maybe he _wouldn’t_ turn out to be a total creep, just like every other asshole who’d invited her to coffee.

Maybe they… really could be friends?

Rose clicked the reply button and started a draft. Maybe this was a terrible decision. Maybe she should cut him out of her life and never look back. Her hands hovered over the keyboard for a few moments before she started typing. 

Rose had never been one to dwell on a problem too long. She went with her gut. It rarely led her astray.

** _J.Rose_ **

_ Subject: Got your email! _

_ “Don’t worry, I’ve been busy too! Sorry I didn’t get your email for so long. _

_ I’m glad you’re getting help. I know therapy isn’t fun, but I’ve had to take it too. It does help, if you get a good therapist. It sounds like you got a good one! Most people have to try a few different ones before they find a good one, so that’s lucky!! I’m proud of you :) _

_ I’m free tomorrow, if you want to get coffee then. How does 10 am sound? I would go earlier, but I rarely get a chance to sleep in :0” _

Okay, there. Sent it. Short and sweet. To the point. Rose leaned back for a moment, then got up out of her chair. She’d been sitting there so long that every bone in her back cracked when she moved. She’d have a while before he replied, so maybe she should -

_ Ding! _

Rose looked back down at the computer, surprised. Another email? That couldn’t be from Boris, could it? It was 2 AM. Any reasonable creature was fast asleep by now. 

She sat back down and looked at the new email. Dear lord, it  _ was  _ him. More guilt settled in her gut. Had he been  _ waiting  _ on her to reply all this time?

** _Boris Habit_ **

_ No Subject _

_ “Yes that soumds very very good!!!!!! :-D!! I will cee you there!!” _

Rose had barely gotten the chance to read the first email before another one came in, startling her with a soft ding.

** _Boris Habit_ **

_ Subject: j _

_ “Sorree!!! I forgot 2 ask where U want to go??” _

Another ding. Rose couldn’t stop herself from wheezing a little. She couldn’t lie - this was adorable. 

** _Boris Habit_ **

_ No Subject _

_ “I can go anywhere!!! I hab a car, do not worree! I cam gev U a ride if u need one!!” _

Ding!

** _Boris Habit_ **

_ Subject: Sorri!! _

_ “Ii din’t mean to assume U did not have a carI’m sorri!! But I cnan if u need 2 and I cam also go anywhere, just say the word! :-D” _

Rose sat back in her chair for a few moments just to make sure there weren’t any more coming in. Her lips pulled back into a grin, despite herself. He was… 

She… couldn’t deny that she’d grown awful fond of him in the short time they’d gotten to really talk. She couldn’t really justify  _ why _ , but that was what she felt. Maybe it was the fact that he didn’t seem fully human, or the illustrations all over the walls, or the… the journal… or the slideshow on the roof… 

She had high hopes for this, either way. It’d been a long, long time since she’d had someone to properly talk to.

Maybe she really  _ should  _ cut him out of her life. Maybe that would be smarter. Safer.

But she was already typing out a reply.

** _J.Rose_ **

_ Subject: Don’t worry _

_ “I don’t have a car but I live close to a cafe called Jay’s. I can walk there.” _

She hesitated. Truthfully, there weren’t any parking spots near that shop  _ because  _ of how close it was to so many apartment complexes. Would he even be able to find a spot to park? At least, one that didn’t require him walking 2 miles?

She thought for a few minutes, weighing her options. She started to type again.

_ “There’s no parking spaces there, so I’ll send you the address to my apartment building. There’s parking spots here. You can park for free, even, because they’ll assume you live here. I can meet you outside and walk you there if you want.” _

Rose typed out the address and clicked send before she could second guess herself. That was… risky. Sure, she hadn’t told him her apartment number, but how long would it really take him to find her if he set his mind to it? The lady at the front desk wouldn’t think to keep her mouth shut. If he turned creepy, Rose would have to deal with that herself.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d had to deal with a stalker, but that didn’t make the idea any less uncomfortable.

She was trusting him. She hoped he realized that.

This time, his reply took a while. While she was waiting, she stretched, went to the bathroom and even grabbed a glass of water. She really wanted coffee, but she also wanted to  _ sleep  _ sometime in the next century, so she held back.

God, human muscles liked to ache. She tried to think of a more comfortable shape for a few minutes before another  _ ding  _ finally broke her train of thought.

** _Boris Habit_ **

_ No Subject _

_ “That sounds very good! I will B there at 10 :-) _

_ Thank you, Flower.” _

Wow. That was a long time for such a short message.

Maybe he understood that she was trusting him with this. Maybe he was just being extra careful to spell things right. Maybe that “thank you” meant “thank you for trusting me after I scared the shit out of you and stole 12 of your teeth, I promise I’m taking this seriously.”

Well, she couldn’t jump to conclusions. All the same, when she finally turned off the computer and crawled in bed, it was with an overwhelming sense of hope. 

Maybe this really  _ would  _ be good.

* * *

Rose woke up at 8 am in a cold sweat, chased into the waking world by a nightmare. She couldn’t remember what it was about. She never could.

For a little while, she tried to fall back asleep. She couldn’t. She could never do _that_, either.

Eventually she got up and started her day. 2 hours early wasn’t bad, she supposed. At least the adrenaline had shocked her awake. She just wished that was a less common way to start her day.  _ One  _ day to sleep in, that would be nice.  _ One  _ day to rest. But such was her life, and she had to live it, so she tried to take it in stride.

She went through the motions for a while. Showered, brushed her teeth, flossed, brushed her hair. When she got to makeup, she paused. Was it… too much, to wear makeup for this? She didn’t usually wear makeup. 

Rose eventually decided against it. As much as it would boost her confidence, it wasn’t worth it today. If things went bad, she would probably have to change shape, and that was a mess.

She stared into the mirror for a while, her mind wandering. 

Purely on a whim, she shapeshifted into Boris. She looked him up and down, preserved as she remembered him - fluffy blue coat, black pants, long,  _ long  _ hair. Such sad eyes.

“I can do this,” she rasped quietly, Boris’ voice slipping out of her mouth. She reached up and very gently touched his hair with his own claws. “If it bleeds, it can die. I can protect myself if I have to.”

Satisfied, Rose shifted back into her usual form. A little human woman stared back at her from the mirror, gold eyes somber but all too awake. This was happening whether she was ready or not, so she might as well be okay with it.

“I can do this,” she repeated a little louder, just to hear her own voice in the air. “If it bleeds, it can die.”

Right. 

Rose tried not to put too much effort into an outfit, but despite herself the nerves were creeping in. She really, really didn’t want to overdress. Or underdress. Was this a date? It was just a hang out, right? Just… two people getting coffee? One of whom happened to be a really tall, really gorgeous -

Right, right, not time to think about that. 

She looked through her closet for a while before settling on a flowery blouse - way fancier than the graphic T-Shirts she normally wore - and a nice pair of jeans. Right. Well. Her tennis shoes didn’t match, and the jeans were faded with age, but that was all she had. She’d never really been one for buying tons of clothes. Why buy more than 2 pairs of shoes if the ones she had were still wearable? Why buy more than 5 shirts when all she ever wore was loose funny ones?

Okay, _that, _and she was just… really poor.

But she looked nice enough, so she wasn’t going to dwell on it. 

Rose looked down at her watch, hoping against hope that it was already time to go. 

“9:45,” she muttered. “Right, great. 25 minutes to waste. That’s fine.”

Just to burn some time, she shapeshifted a few times to make sure her outfit translated fine. In each form, the clothes shifted, grew and shrank with her body, fitting the same each time. Good. Great. So if she had to shapeshift she wouldn’t end up half naked on accident. Again.

...shit, she was really,  _ really  _ nervous.

Maybe… just a  _ little  _ makeup wouldn’t hurt. It could never hurt, right? She trotted into the bathroom and dabbed some foundation over the scars on her face. Okay, now her skin tone was uneven. She blotted it all over her face, hands working quicky with muscle memory. Little bit of contour. Little bit of blush. Little more blush. A bit of eyeshadow. Eyeliner. Mascara.

“Okay,” she finally whispered, looking at herself in the mirror. She just… looked like herself. Her human self, at least, minus a lot of scars.

...no, no. God, no, what was she doing? Who was she  _ kidding? _

Rose cursed rather loudly and scrubbed the makeup off her face, raking the wipe against her skin until her cheeks were red. She finally got the last of it off, and checked her watch again.

9:57. Okay, shit.  _ Shit _ . Time to go.

Shoving her wallet and keys into her purse, Rose checked herself in the mirror one last time. The same little human woman stared back at her. It was the form she was born in, but somehow, it never felt quite right - not for long. What she wouldn’t give to just be able to change whenever she wanted, without fear. To be _whatever_ she wanted, _wherever _she wanted to be.

But hopefully to not be _LATE-?!_

Rose slammed the door to her apartment, locking it and then booking it down the stairs. Shit, she was gonna be late! What kind of fucking impression was that? It was 10 in the morning, she couldn’t play it off like she slept in,  _ shit- _

She leapt down the last few stairs and landed awkwardly, then trotted at was  _ hopefully  _ a more relaxed pace. She pushed her way outside and immediately got slapped in the face with heat. Squinting against the sun, she half jogged around back to the parking lot, until the building finally blocked the sun from her eyes and she relaxed.

At the edge of the parking lot, she paused, suddenly unsure. She didn’t know what his car looked like. How was she even gonna know where he was? Or if he was even here? Maybe she should have checked her email again… 

The slamming of a car door startled her out of her thoughts. She glanced around the parking lot, but it didn’t take long to notice  Boris Habit standing some 30 feet away, tall as  _ hell  _ and waving his hand above his head. His car was simple enough - maybe even a rental, to be honest, it looked awfully new. She glanced him over and found that he was wearing a red button up shirt with black jeans. Okay, good, she didn’t overdress!

She took a moment to notice that his hair was up in a ponytail. It looked like his scrunchie was straining against the mass of red curls. That was… really fucking adorable, actually. 

He was grinning at her, so big and cute and infectious that she couldn’t help but smile back. She trotted over to him, waving shyly. 

The second she was within arm’s reach, he bent at the waist and scooped her up in a hug. He lifted her off the ground so fast that she almost panicked and shapeshifted, not knowing if it was an attack or not - but after a moment or two of him just squeezing her gently, she realized what he was doing. She hesitantly hugged him back, awkwardness tinging her smile.

“Hi, Dr. Habit.”

“Please, just Boris!” He said, setting her back down gently. He clasped his hands in front of his chest awkwardly, but Rose noticed there was… more  _ light  _ in his tired eyes. “How have you been?? It has been too long!”

Another stone of guilt settled in Rose’s stomach, but she forced herself not to think about it.

“Uh. I-I’ve been good. Tired.”

He paused and looked her over, as if he’d forgotten to do it before. His eyes seemed to linger at a low point on her face. Rose wondered, for a moment, if she’d forgotten to take off some foundation - but when his expression turned more somber, she realized he was probably looking at her purple eye bags. She hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep lately. Or maybe he was looking at... 

“Yes,” he said, his voice drifting back into the softness she recognized. “Yes, I would imagine. How are your… your, um…” 

Rose sighed internally, hoping he wasn’t about to ask -

“Your teeth?”

Yeah. That.

For a moment, Rose debated on whether to lie or not. It would be simple to say she’d gotten implants, but if they  _ did  _ become friends, it wouldn’t take long for him to notice her lack of funds for such a thing. She could also… tell a little bit of the truth, she supposed. After all… nobody would believe him, and she did have some dirt on him, too, right? He wouldn’t snitch on her, knowing she’d seen “ _ Martha _ .”

That was such a pessimistic way of thinking, perhaps, but Rose had been alive long enough to see the dark side of the world. She had to play it safe.

Too many people went missing for being "_different_." 

“They grew back,” she said, watching for a reaction. She looked away so she could reach up and pull one of her cheeks back for emphasis, showing off at least most of her teeth. 

Boris was silent for a long time. She looked up at him, her brows slightly furrowed. He didn’t seem mad or accusatory. If anything, he looked a little confused, but not much else. Maybe concerned. 

His eyes were really pretty, she realized. She’d kind of missed them. 

She tried to focus on that instead of the deep-seeded feeling of dread - the guilt of having said anything at all.

“Flower, if you needed to get implants… I could pay for them,” he said, breaking her out of her thoughts. His voice was so quiet. She looked into his eyes, trying to find some trace of dishonesty there. Some trace of deception or disbelief.

He just looked sad. Tired and sad and  _ guilty. _

“They grew back,” she said, again, with more emphasis. “I’m serious. They’re real teeth. Real teeth that I’m about to stain with some coffee. You comin’ still?”

He was silent for another few moments, but under her stare and dimpled grin, he couldn’t muster up the will to press further. He smiled back at her, red dusting his cheeks. 

“Yes, that sounds very good.”

Rose turned and started walking towards the street, waving back at him to follow her. Now that he was here and  _ she  _ was here, she found herself floundering for something to say. 2 weeks suddenly felt like no time at all. She’d spent 4 weeks in the Habitat, after all. 4 weeks, leading up to… up to… 

“You know, you can just call me Rose, by the way,” she said, trying to sound chipper. She turned to look at him, finding that he was walking close behind her. She had to strain her neck to see his face. 

For some reason, he blushed harder. “O-Oh! Right, yes. I’m sorry, I just got used to thinking of you as Flower Kid.”

He laughed awkwardly. Rose was reminded of the later PSAs, calling her things like _Flower Brat _and _Flower Delivery Scamp_. Maybe he was thinking the same thing. 

“Well, Rose, Flower, same difference,” she wheezed softly, sticking her thumbs in her pockets and looking at the sidewalk. 

“Haha… Yes. I, um…” He started, trailing off after a moment.

Rose kept walking, hearing Boris’ footsteps behind her. They still had a ways till they got to the cafe, anyway. She just… didn’t really want to stop on the street while he tried to figure out what he was saying. She was tired. Somewhere nearby, a chair was calling her name.

“I know I said this in my email. But. I’m sorry... Rose.”

Rose sighed, keeping her eyes directed at the sidewalk. It was a miracle he hadn’t already asked about their color, to be honest. Of all the things to worry about right now…

“I hurt you,” he said.

She finally stopped. She took one hand away from her pocket and rubbed her face harshly, letting her fingers mold the skin he couldn’t see. Even a little bit of shapeshifting, even for a second, helped calm her nerves. 

“I’m _so_ _sorry,”_ he repeated, his voice tight.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rose said, after a few heartbeats of thinking. “I’ve had worse things done to me. I’ve forgiven people for more. Let’s just -”

“You’ve had worse things than someone ripping your  _ teeth  _ out of your mouth?? F-Flower, I-”

“ _ Stop _ ,” she said, trying not to snap. “Just - stop. I forgive you, okay?”

Rose turned back and looked at him. His hands were clasped over his mouth, as if that would do anything to hide the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.

“I still want to be your friend.” Her voice was firm, but… she hesitated to say it. And when the tears finally started flowing down his face, she knew she should have waited. “It’s  _ okay _ , I promise. My teeth grew back, it’s fine.”

He reached for her briefly as if he wanted to hug her, but then drew his hands back and shoved them in his pockets. Sighing quietly, she reached out and tugged one of his hands towards her. He looked down at her in surprise when she wrapped her smaller hand around a few of his fingers, her eyes averted. After a moment, his fingers tightened a bit, curling around her hand. She hated how sweaty she was.

His skin was burning hot against hers. That wasn’t really what she expected - or remembered. When she’d kissed him, he’d felt cold. Maybe it was the laughing gas. She wondered if he even remembered her doing that. 

She wondered if he questioned  _ why  _ she was strong enough to pull him down to her level. 

She wondered a lot of things, few of them comforting.

“One step at a time,” she said, half to herself as well as to Boris. “You’re healing. I’m healing. Life’s just that way. Nothin’s ever picture perfect. Let’s just get a coffee or something and not worry about anything else today, okay?”

_ And all the secrets between us can remain unsaid.  _ She thought.  _ We don’t have to complicate this. _

He was silent. When she finally looked back up at his face, he had his lips pressed into a thin line. For a moment, she wished she could read his mind - but that wasn’t one of the gifts she was blessed with. She just had to watch his face twist under the weight of so many emotions,  _ too  _ many emotions, until finally, he nodded. 

“Yes,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Yes, that sounds good.”

Rose nodded. They walked the rest of the way together, hand in hand, Boris apparently oblivious to the implications and Rose sending death glares to any strangers that looked at them funny. When they got to the coffee shop, Rose momentarily tried to get her hand free - but Boris held firm. Unwilling to question it or deal with it, she opted to ignore it. She ordered a large coffee with an ungodly amount of sugar and cream. Boris ordered thai tea and a croissant. They sat at a little round table, and only then did he reluctantly let her hand go.

He was blushing horribly, fiddling with his hands in her absence.

Briefly, Rose wondered if kissing him had been the right thing to do. 

She couldn’t think of anything else, at the time - anything to stop his tirade. 

She didn’t really  _ regret  _ it - Rose rarely allowed herself to regret things, instead thinking “what’s done is done” - but she had to wonder, had to  _ worry  _ what that meant for them… now. If there was something she was supposed to be  _ doing _ . If there was something Boris  _ wanted  _ from her.

She wouldn’t mind kissing him again, she supposed... In fact, every time she looked at his face she couldn’t help but remember kissing him  _ last  _ time, and God if she wasn’t so touch starved that the memory shook her up. Kissing was one thing, however. Anything and everything  _ else- _

“Rose?”

She startled rather badly, her hands slapping over her face to hide the way the flesh had shifted with her emotions. Had he seen?! He was staring at her now, yes, but he mostly just looked… concerned? Not surprised, just concerned. Was that good? Was that a good sign? Did he  _ see? _

“Wh-what?” She managed.

He wordlessly pointed, and Rose finally noticed the waitress, standing impatiently near the table with their orders. Blushing furiously, Rose moved back so the lady could set their things down. While she was bent over, the waitress shot her a nasty look - one that Boris couldn’t see. 

_ She saw. _

Somehow… Rose didn’t care about some random lady seeing. Not as much as Boris finding her out.

In fact, feeling a little pissed at the whole predicament she was in, Rose flashed the girl a wide, nasty smile - nearly splitting her face in half. The poor thing jumped and hurried away, but by the time her head was up, Rose’s face was back to normal. Just a normal human woman with her normal human friend. Nothing strange here, no ma’am.

_ Just  _ ** _try _ ** _ telling anyone what you saw, lady. _

Rose tried to smile at Boris with the same confidence, but she was shaking. She sipped her drink and scalded her tongue. She put the cup down awkwardly.

“Are you OK?” He asked, gingerly grasping his own cup. 

“I’m growing flowers!” Rose blurted, desperate to change the subject. She stared at the table awkwardly, praying he’d just go along with it. “In - in my apartment, I mean. I, um. I c-converted the guest bedroom into a miniature greenhouse. It’s kinda cool.”

Boris was silent for a few long moments. It was obvious that he noticed, but would he go along with it? Would he  _ pry? _

“Is that not bad for the walls?” he asked eventually. “The water?”

Rose breathed a shaky sigh of relief, and a more genuine smile pulled at her lips. “Well, yeah, but no? I set up tarp in there. The floor’s covered, and I’ve got walls set up with old coat stands. The vent’s the window. I’ve got the tarp taped up there and the window cracked.”

She dared to look up, and found Boris smiling thoughtfully, looking out the window. 

For a few moments, she just stared. Just absorbing what he looked like. Out of his bloody old scrubs and even the form-hiding coat, he looked… different, obviously, but… better? Hair up, more light in his eyes, short sleeves. He was… cuter. That was the word. He looked nice. Healthier.

“I a-actually, uh, since I’ve got you?” Rose said, suddenly remembering something. He looked at her curiously - maybe even nervously. 

“I was wondering if, uh… the tooth lily? Did it seed?” She asked, curling around her cup a bit. “I, uh, I know you said you buried the seeds, but the new one, if it seeded, I’d pay you for some.”

He straightened in shock, mouth falling open a bit. For a moment, he seemed to flounder for what to say. His hands went down for a moment like he was looking for coat pockets to stick them in, but finding none, he eventually gripped the table instead.

“Wh- Why would you… want that?” he asked nervously, his smile crooked. 

Rose’s mind flew back to the slideshow on the roof - to the journal pages she found. To yanking him down and kissing him so he’d shut the fuck up. To giving him that beautiful white flower.

God, what a  _ mess  _ she’d made.

“I just want them,” she said, no room for debate in her tone. “I want to grow them. I know how. They’re beautiful. They deserve to survive.”

_ You deserve to get to see them,  _ she thought, but decided not to say. That was… a bit too weird, all things considered. But she did mean it. She knew they were his favorite.

He clasped his hands together and fiddled with them. Rose tried not to mind the awkward silence. They both had a lot on their minds, surely.

“Well,” he finally muttered. “I suppose there is no point in ‘dancing’ around the fact that you read my diary.”

Rose stiffened. The muscles in her face twitched and got loose, wanting to change shape, wanting to get away. She tilted her face down to hide it.

“You… you did a lot for me. You’re still doing a lot for me.” He went on, voice deep but somehow not intimidating in the least. Somehow  _ fragile. _ “You… forgave me for a lot. For a lot of bad things. And you made so many people happy, too. You did so much that I couldn’t.”

Rose opened her mouth to argue, but he raised his hand with a sad, patient smile. 

“I’ll give you all of them,” he said. “No charge, of course. You deserve them. I know you’ll give them wonderful lives.”

Rose closed her mouth and stared at him for a moment, thinking. 

“Half,” she said, firmly. “Give me half of them. You grow the rest.”

He blanched, but this time, Rose was the one to raise her hand before he could protest.

“You’re right, I read those pages,” she said, brows furrowed. “And I saw that slideshow you had chained up on the roof.”

Boris somehow turned white. She pressed on.

“I saw the art in your office. I saw a lot, Boris. I know how important that flower is to you, and I won’t stand for you just letting it go. You deserve to grow as many as you want. Life’s been too goddamn unfair and I won’t stand for another  _ moment  _ of it. If it won’t be fair to you, I’ll be fair  _ for  _ it. So. Half. No arguments, capiche?”

He stared at her as if she’d grown two heads, for quite a long time. Rose had to resist the urge to check for a second head on her shoulder, paranoid still. But she meant what she said and she’d stick by it, damn it.

Boris seemed to sense the determination in her eyes. He wilted before the look she gave him.

“Alright,” he said. Then he smiled softly, a little laugh bubbling up in his chest. “You… you sure are a hero, aren’t you, Flower?”

Rose snorted loudly - loud enough to make several people glance in their direction. She covered her face, shaking her head.

“No,” she replied, moving her hands and smiling at him crookedly. “No, but I’m fair to my friends.”

He looked down at his drink, his whole face slowly lighting up. Somehow, the sight made Rose a little proud. Here was this  _ terrifyingly  _ tall man with a russian accent and a stature that’d intimidate anybody - and he was blushing up a storm because she’d called him her friend.

The rest of their time was spent in near silence, but it was comfortable. They talked more idly, about things much less important and terrifying than the events at the Habitat. Hell, they even talked about the _weather_. Eventually Rose’s coffee was gone, and a while after that, Boris finished his food. Still they stayed, talking occasionally but mostly just enjoying having someone to be near.

It was nice. Nicest day Rose had gotten, in a while.

Eventually her back started to crick and the weight of her human body started prickling at her mind. She wanted to shapeshift, she wanted to  _ stretch _ . She was hardly ever around another person this long without something really distracting going on - like a 12 hour shift making drinks - so Rose found herself… not really knowing what to do. She didn’t want to leave, but life wasn’t so gracious that she could just do what she wanted all the time.

So… reluctantly, she got up from her chair. Boris watched her, sitting up a little straighter, obviously not wanting to leave either - not yet.

But hey, life wasn’t fair.

“I gotta… I gotta start headin’ back,” she said, trying to smile. “You can… I mean,  _ obviously  _ you can come with me, your  _ car  _ is there, but -”

“Oh!” He got up excitedly, his hands brushing his hips in that pocket-finding reflex. He looked lost without it. “Yes, let’s go! I want to see your apartment!!!”

Rose blanched. She couldn’t help but lean back a little. “What?”

Boris stared at her face for a moment, his smile dipping as he realized he’d just said something strange. He looked even more lost under her stare. “Um. Sorry. I… Your… Um…”

He turned red and looked away, visibly sweating even in the AC. 

Rose… found it difficult to believe that he  _ meant  _ it...  _ that  _ way. But all the same, the way he’d said that had brought her uncomfortably back to earth. Back to trying to protect herself. She did her best to give him the benefit of the doubt, regardless, keeping in mind that he was giving him a second chance.

It wasn’t that she thought she couldn’t protect herself - it was everything else. 

She’d have to think. 

A lot.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, giving him an awkward smile. She started walking for the door. “Comin’?”

They walked in silence, a respectful distance away from each other on the sidewalk - both their hands in their pockets. Rose stared at the concrete under her ratty old shoes, counting lines and cracks and weeds, her mind a million miles away. Boris was doing much of the same.

“Thank you for not asking,” she blurted rather suddenly.

Boris looked down at her, confused. “About what?”

Rose wheezed softly, gesturing to her face. “About my eyes. About my teeth growing back. About why I…”

_ Kissed you, _ she thought, but somehow, she couldn’t get the words out. Normally she didn’t much care about saying what she thought, but this felt different. She didn’t want to acknowledge that, not yet.

Boris hummed softly, smoothing down his shirt. “I suppose… everyone has things they don’t really want to talk about. Reasons for frowning. It wouldn’t be right of me to pry.”

Rose wheezed again, even quieter this time. “I don’t frown because of those things. I frown because of what people… do, when they know what… when they know  _ why _ .”

Boris was quiet for a moment. “I understand.”

Rose wanted to argue. She really, really did. But for some reason, she believed him.

_ What on earth are you, Boris? _ She thought, her throat tight.  _ Are you like me? Could you somehow, impossibly, be something like me? _

“This world… it’s a big, complicated place,” she tested, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. “But nothing in the world is as scary as a human being.”

Boris glanced at her. For a moment, they locked eyes. It felt like they were communicating something, but it was like trying to listen underwater - Rose had no idea  _ what  _ was said, only that something was  _ there _ .

“I very much agree,” he murmured. “But don’t all living things deserve to smile?”

Rose almost stopped walking. Did that - did he understand? Could he possibly ACTUALLY be something like her? Some kind of… schrodinger's human, at best, something like Trencil, something  _ other _ , something that would  _ understand _ , something -

She stopped herself, looking down at the sidewalk again and trying not to cry from the sheer hope in her chest - and the pain the hope brought with it.

“I think so,” is what she said, eventually. “But humans are horribly judgemental, aren’t they? Sometimes it feels like… like people like you and me just, don’t have a place. Like we could do all the good in the world and it wouldn’t matter, because we’re  _ different.” _

God, she was really testing the waters, now, but she couldn’t help it - couldn’t help the hope in her chest or the sting in her eyes.

She was so lonely.

There wasn’t a person alive who really  _ knew  _ what she was.

She hoped against hope that maybe this man could understand. That somehow, maybe, God himself had finally reached down with a miracle.

They were in front of her apartment building. They stopped outside the doors, Rose half on a step. She looked back at him, seeing him staring right back at her, a rather guarded look on his face. Trying desperately to communicate her sincerity, she turned to face him, hugging her arms.

She was trying so hard not to cry, and he seemed to notice. His features softened immediately.

What a fucking sap.

“I think… we’ll be OK,” he said softly, as if he was afraid someone would overhear. “My… My therapist said something similar to what you said, earlier. ‘One step at a time,’ she said. And I said, ‘why not one smile at a time?’ Do you know what she did?”

Rose shook her head, pinching her lips together to keep them from trembling. What a mess.

“She smiled. She said she liked that idea very much.”

Rose tucked her face down, closing her eyes. The urge to shift was so strong, like an itch, like a need to get out of a cramped space. She held it back. Everything was swimming.

Boris pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his larger frame around her smaller one as much as he could at the awkward angle. He tucked his head against her shoulder, rubbing her back, her face hidden by the sheer mass of his ponytail. He was a furnace, but somehow, the air around him felt cold. She leaned into him without thinking.

She didn’t cry. Somehow, someway, she managed to keep it in. She did, however, shake violently under the weight of her emotions and all the unsaid things. She wished she could tell him everything, but she didn’t. She just stood there, shaking, for a long time, breathing deeply and letting him hug her. He didn’t smell like laughing gas anymore. He smelled kind of like soil and strawberry shampoo.

God. What a fucking sap. What a fucking… squishy,  _ soft  _ man. 

Rose made a decision, in that moment. A decision she didn’t know she’d be making that day.

She was gonna protect him.

She was really and truly going to accept his friendship, and all that entailed.

Having a friend was long overdue for both of them and she wasn’t going to play 20 questions with herself trying to justify her feelings, or even understand them. She was just going to accept this for what it was and not worry about naming it or... or saying the right thing. 

Even if he was, somehow, terribly  _ human  _ \- right then, Rose decided to be his friend.

“Oh, God,” she laughed, feeling pathetic. “Fuck it. Fuck it all. Just come up with me, I want you to see my greenhouse. You’re gonna teach me the best ways to grow a tooth lily.”

He leaned back, withdrawing his arms as if she’d shocked him, surprise written all over his face. “Wh- are you sure?? You don’t have to-”

“Just come on,” she said firmly, turning around and opening the door. “N’less you got somethin’ you gotta do at home. I’d just rather hear instructions from your mouth than in an email.”

_ Because I can barely fucking read what you type,  _ she thought with a bit of a laugh, but kept that bit to herself.

“Oh - um. Okay??” he said, sounding bewildered but excited as he followed her up.

And it went fine. Rose showed him the greenhouse, and in the presence of so many healthy plants, something about him seemed to relax immensely. He ended up ranting about the care of tooth lilies for another hour, picking the best place in the greenhouse, rearranging some of her plants to have more or less light, all the while smiling so big that… 

That Rose could see he’d  _ removed  _ the extra teeth? He was actually missing a few of his natural ones. Somehow, it made him softer. Cuter, maybe? 

She was proud of him for it.

After that, he went home, and Rose quite literally melted into her bed, letting go of any one form. She stretched, and sighed, a vaguely human shaped blob - resting. Content. She changed into a more doggish form, enjoying the feeling of fur buffering her contact with the bed. Soft. Saved her some money on blankets, that’s for sure.

It was a good day.

She sighed deeper, thinking things over. Boris would come by in a few days with the seeds. Tomorrow she’d have work again. There wasn’t a damn thing in the world she had to do, today. Nothing but rest.

When she fell asleep, she allowed herself to hope.

Hope that Boris Habit was more than met the human eye. Hope that maybe, somehow… this would all work out.

Maybe she could be happy.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This story is told through the POV of my sona, Rose, who in this case functions as a reader insert. Rose is Flower Kid in this story. Most things are left ambiguous. Her gender, eye color, and species are specified. There's an implication of past trauma in her life, but that's also left ambiguous.
> 
> Based on the game, I like to headcanon that Boris is some sort of cryptid - WHAT, we don't know! Definitely something that can pass as human, at least! The game plays that rather lightly, but I put them in a more... realistic situation, I suppose.
> 
> I wrote this story mostly for fun, so it may not be the best, and it may not be your cuppa tea - that's alright! If you liked it, you can see more content from me @ https://jdillustratesnonsense.tumblr.com/


End file.
